Looking For A Few Good Veggie Recipes

I don’t like to eat my veggies. A large part of this is that I am just not creative with them. Another part is that until recently my husband refused to eat half the vegetables in the market, thus denying me a chance to cook with them. And to be honest, I always preferred them raw. I figured I get the most benefit out of them nutrition wise when they are their most natural.

One problem is that many vegetable recipes call for unhealthy add ins. My favorite broccoli cheese casserole is full of white rice and unhealthy cheez whiz. Green bean casserole is loaded down with fried onions and mushroom soup. Corn casseroles tend to have the carbs of the corn, some kind of cream soup and bread crumbs.

Recently, though, I have been taking tentative steps toward more creative cooking involving these herbaceous plants. This Indian-Spiced Eggplant and Caulifower Stew has proven to be a big hit in my family. A local deli makes a vegetable lasagna that is healthy and delicious. My husband has been cooking up collard greens with beans, sausage and spices. We’ve been eating more salad. But I would really like to expand.

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13 thoughts on “Looking For A Few Good Veggie Recipes”

It’s more of a snack at our house, but I toss chickpeas in garlic oil and sprinkle with cracked pepper and fleur de sel, and roast at 400 degrees for 10-20 minutes (depending on how crispy you want them). My kids eat them like popcorn, but they’re great in salad. You can use pretty much any seasoning you want and it might work well with other beans. Also, the White Bean and Roasted Garlic Dip in Ellie Krieger’s “The Food You Crave” is so awesome, we ALWAYS have a container of it in our fridge. In fact, all three of her cookbooks are great and she incorporates lots of veggies (and fruit) into her recipes. I just ignore the fact that it’s healthy cooking and keep right on enjoying. So what if i’m losing some weight in the process. Bon Apetit!

Also I rarely have bacon, so I use smoke flavoring in the mayo. I also use low cal or non fat mayo ( I think I have even used miracle whip) and also artifical sweeter instead of sugar. You also can change up the amounts of the grapes, raisins and almonds depending on your taste.

I would second Gwenhwyfar’s roasted chick pea suggestion. They’re one of my favorite snacks. They’re also really nice added to a simple salad.

Have you tried roasting vegetables? In the winter I roast just about any vegetable I can get my hands on. I generally cut up the veggies and put them in a ziploc bag, add a bit of olive oil, and water seasonings I feel like at the moment (pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, just about anything goes). Then I spread them out on a baking sheet and cook in the oven (usually set anywhere from 400f to 450f). Depending on the veggies, they can take anywhere from 10 minutes to about 30 minutes. Some of my favorites for roasting lately are broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, and yellow squash. The roasting brings out the sugars and gives them almost a sweet taste.

Toss all the ingredients together and let stand for 5-10 minutes. We LOVE this stuff, so i usually use a bag of angel hair coleslaw and 2 2 bell peppers (yellow & orange are pretty too) and then half a good sized onion. You can adjust the lime/oil ratios to suit your taste. I slice my veggies until they’re very nearly shaved. Also, before serving, i drain the slaw a bit so it’s not too runny. I store this in a Crisper container which has a vented insert so that it doesn’t sit immersed in the dressing – them just toss a bit more before serving.

I also like to sneak extra veggies into dishes. When I make marinara sauce (already filled with tomatoes and onions) I add pureed carrots for an extra boost. I do the same thing with chili. I also add finely chopped zucchini and yellow squash to chili, and at times add them to my marinara sauce.

When I make pasta, I’ll often put a load of fresh spinach in the colander before I drain the pasta. It “cooks” just from the boiled water the pasta was cooked in. Topped with marinara sauce, and you’ve just upped your veggies for the day.

The recipes in Laurel’s Kitchen were always a hit with my family. My younger daughter who thought only white foods were healthy (chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and white corn was her favorite meal!) would even eat Laurel’s split pea spread that’s an alternative to peanut butter.